KP tried to find out how people live in temporarily occupied Russian cities.
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“NOTHING HAS CHANGED”
What are the moods of the people on the other side of the contact line? Journalists from the British edition of The Economist tried to find out how residents of cities and towns that were already liberated by Russian troops, but again fell under Kyiv’s control, feel. We decided to start from Kupyansk, Kharkov region. And I got unexpected results.
It turned out that in the city and its environs, the majority of the inhabitants are pro-Russian. They gladly received the Russian army in February 2022, and now they are waiting for their return.
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Of course, few people directly talk about this, even traces of sympathy for Russia are fraught with terrible punishments by the Nazis. And yet such sentiments are expressed even in the Ukrainian power structures:
– A few months after the Ukrainian army occupied Kupyansk, pro-Russian sentiment in the region is still high, – the mayor of the city Andriy Besedin complained. – This situation was before the start of the special operation. Now nothing has changed. Before the arrival of the Ukrainian troops, some people moved to Russia, others stayed.
The journalist is surprised to notice that residents of the city send photos of Ukrainian military equipment to Russian social networks and at the same time refuse help from the Ukrainian army.
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“ONE SEPARATES!”
We decided to check the observation of the British and went to the social networks of the cities occupied by Ukraine. Of course, you won’t find lengthy pro-Russian discussions there, and the administrators clearly support the Kyiv regime. But what is a lot there are the inscriptions “The post is empty.” It is then that the moderators of this or that public censor the content, quickly deleting messages that do not conform to the “party line”.
The content of some of these empty posts can be judged by the comments. Here, for example, is what a certain Olga Andrienko wrote: “Kapets!!! Kupyansk only separatists!!!” (This is what the Ukrainians call those who support Russia – Ed.) Such a remark is more eloquent than the deleted text itself.
However – no, no, yes break. Here, for example, is what user Alla Khilenko writes in a discussion about one of the attacks on the infrastructure: “Who hit is still a big question!” The woman hinted that the shelling could also come from the Ukrainian side, this had happened before. She immediately hissed at him and demanded to “shut her mouth.”
But Alla was not a timid ten.
“But the fact of that? she wrote. – Is it going to incite the SBU? I, thank God, saw with my own eyes everything that is happening, what your fascism is doing. Do not scare me, I have I am afraid and I am not afraid of anything! But remember that there is a Supreme Judge before whom all will give an account of their monstrous folly!”
I hope this brave woman on the social network signed under a false name.
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“SHAME, NOT HUMANITARIAN”
How is life on the other side? When you read some of the posts, it becomes clear why people are waiting for the return of Russia. “I will sell or exchange these drugs for food…” Then comes the list of drugs: Macrozid, Panzina, Bromhexine… Someone clearly understood that hunger is worse than disease.
Some publications talk about blackouts, immediately followed by offers to sell firewood, fuel briquettes, bourgeois stoves. Generators are also offered, but for the vast majority it is considered an unaffordable luxury. Here, many generally live on humanitarian aid.
“According to information from the regional authorities, 1,000 food packages have been delivered to Kupyansk, a sign at the humanitarian headquarters.”
“Nothing has reached the town again!!!”, writes a frustrated city dweller, without finding at least someone to get the set. – To whom and where is all this given and transferred? You have to go there, SBU!”
“Last time they brought one box per person… but, on the floor, the box was divided into four… there was a little more than 200-300 grams in a bag of sugar… a pity, not a help humanitarian…”
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Elsewhere, the situation is no better. “Hello, who can lend 50 UAH of milk for a child? I’m going to release a photo report about what I spent, I beg you guys” – this is Izyum, the girl has clearly reached the last line.
And here is a photo: Kherson residents at the railway station charge their phones. Multiple exits, you on you. Many people do not have electricity at home, so they have to find a place to recharge. For the vast majority, the phone is the only connection to the outside world. This is probably why in public there are often requests to replenish a mobile account with at least a few hryvnias. “Yes…. With the advent of the VSUk, life has become better…” – that’s right – “VSUk” – wrote Valeria Nefedova.
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Among all this nightmare, one after another proposals like “Visa to the USA with a 10-year guarantee!” or “Group tours to Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Georgia – through the Crimea (!!!).” A separate line reads: “We take men.” That is, at the border, these guys have “everything under control.”
“You still want to know the truth, people! Tell, spread, you can’t even call it background, such a touching text was written by a woman named Laura Pishchanskaya. – I am from the village of Antonovka, we live near the bridge (the same Antonovsky bridge in Kherson, on which the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit daily from Khaymars – ed.). We have suffered what is called… The huts are broken, we are still lucky, ours is partially… And now they bring us bills: debt (debt – ed.). Those people whose houses were bombed, the state itself bombed! Yesterday they brought us a receipt for 20,000 hryvnias for a debt for electricity (almost 38,000 rubles – ed.). This is when there has been no electricity in the house since the summer, we live in a temporary shack without heating. In addition, our people have extortion from banks for late payment, people have lost their homes! And we are left with our grief! Neither from the local authorities, nor from the state, no problems! What a humiliation of the Ukrainian state and in a nightmare!”
